Carolina Manzanares - LATTC Student Spotlight of the Week

At 44, Carolina Manzanares’s journey to higher education is a living testament to resilience, faith, and the power of community.

Born in Nicaragua and coming to the U.S. at age 15, Carolina had always dreamed of becoming a doctor. She started college in 2001 but had to put her educational journey on pause—first due to financial barriers, then to serve as a primary caregiver for her ailing mother. In the years that followed, she went on to earn certifications as a nursing and medical assistant, while working in retail management and Human Resources to support her family—but had yet to complete her college degree.

In 2020, Carolina went through a difficult season when she sadly lost her mother and later lost her job. “I fell into a depression,” she recalls. But things changed when her friend and LATTC employee, Karen Hernandez, encouraged her to go back to school. “She literally filled out the college application for me,” Carolina laughs. “She believed in me before I could believe in myself.”

In Summer 2024, nearly 25 years after she began her higher education journey, Carolina returned to college at LATTC, starting with non-credit courses to, as she puts it, “dust off the cobwebs.” Carolina soon found a home in LATTC’s Puente program where, despite initial fears that she didn’t belong or was too old to go back to school, she blossomed. “I almost dropped out the second week,” she admits. “But [my classmates in the program] never made me feel old. They saw me as the ‘cool aunt’—we go to the movies, hang out. It’s a beautiful connection.”

By the end of her first semester, Carolina wasn’t just surviving—she was thriving. Nominated by her peers, she became president of Puente her first semester, helped launch the Community for Christ club on campus, and became secretary for the Amaranth Reentry Club. She also began working on campus as a student worker with the Disabled Student Programs and Services office.

While Carolina continued to do well at LATTC, she was met with another unfortunate tragedy this past Spring when her husband unexpectedly passed away. Despite her ongoing grief, she finished out the school year—motivated by the support of her two children, family, friends, professors, and the Puente family. “I couldn’t fail them,” she says.

A new season continues as Carolina continues in her second and final year at LATTC. She plans to transfer to a four-year university to pursue Psychology or possibly a path to medicine. As she reflects on her reentry to higher education, Carolina’s message to others is simple: “Don’t be scared. Sometimes we close the door on ourselves. Just breathe. Ask for help—it opens doors. And remember: It’s never too late.”